Export expansion and growth at different stages of development

This paper empirically examines the role of export expansion in the economic growth of countries at different levels of development. Results from a switching regression model with data-determined group selection indicate that exports contribute to growth through both a sector-externality effect and a factor-productivity effect for low-income countries. The difference in the magnitude of the contribution of export expansion to growth between the two groups of countries is not large, but the contribution is greater for middle-income countries.